Cut-off mechanism.



w. w. BAUMAN.

CUT-OFF MECHANISM.

APPLICATlON FILED APR. 8. 19M.

1,200,298. Patented Oct. 3 1916.

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W. W. BAUMAN. QUT-OFF MECHANISM, APPUCATION FILED APILB. I914.

l 5200,2981. Patented Oct. 3,1916.

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Gimme/1* WILLIAM w. BAUMAN, or nITTMAN, OHIO.

cnr-orr MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Batent.

Patented Oct. 3, 1916.

' Application filed April 8, 1914. Serial No. 830,464.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM WV, BAU- MAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rittnian, in the "county of Wayne, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cut-Off Mechanism; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in devices for controlling the operation of lights, and has for its principal object to i provide a device which is capable'of automatically putting out lights at predetermined times.

Another object of the invention is to pro-- vide a device which is capable of automati cally operating oil lights by which theymay be extinguished without necessitating the use of manual laborin performing the operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide 'a novel means by which the device may be thrown out 'of operati'on when it is desired to operate the lights manually.

Afurther object of the invention is to provide a device in which the'sp'ring which operates the mechanism is also used to force the drive wheel in contact with the wheels which are .to'be driven.

lVith these and other objects in view, the

invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts which will be fully 'set' forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure I is a side view in elevation of a lamp burner showing this improved device as it would appear when applied thereto, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View of the device'to clearly show' the mechanism thereof, Fig.3 is a rear view in elevation of a device showing the'rearplate removed to clearly show theinteriormechanism of the device, Fig.4 is a view. of the rear plate in elevation showing the key as it would appear when"th'e "device isin its inoperative position, Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig.4 showing the'ke'y' in its operative position, Fig.6 is a detail perspective view of themterior of the plate illustrated in Fig. 4,

Fig. 7 is a d'et'ail view offth'e operating shaft showing the same asitwould appear when in position to 'operate the wheels" control ling thewick of the lamp, and Fig. Sis a view illustrating the position of the key when the friction wheels which are driven thereby are in contact, and showing the device in its unwound position. i

Referring now to the drawings by characters of reference, the numeral 1 designates as'an entirety the casing ofthe device having the'reinovable rear plate 2, which plate is provided intermediate its ends with the inverted triangular opening 3 having the tongue 1 extending ther'einto. An angular extension or lug 5 is formed on the tongue asclearly shown and is arranged to rest upon thestrip 6 which extends transversely of the plate and is bent as at '7 intermediate its ends and again bent as at 8 near each end to form the spacing members which hold the said strip in spaced relation to the plate. This lug 5 is arranged to form the stop which limits the movement of the key when the device is in use. A centrally located aperture 9 is formed in the strip and is located slightly above the apex of the triangular opening 3 as clearly shown in Fig. 6. A short longitudinal slot 10 is formed centrally between the lateral edges of the plate 2 and is arranged to form a' guide for the friction wheel which will be more fully hereinafter described.

' Journaled within the casing 1 intermediate it's ends is a sha'ft'll which has secured thereto the friction wheel 13, having formed integrally therewith, a spur gear 12, which meshes with the gear wheel 11', which is jo'urnaled upon the shaft 19. A spur gear 15 is formed integrallyw-ith the gear wheel 14 and rotates therewith upon the shaft 19. The spur gear 15 meshes with the gear wheel 16, which isjournaled upon the shaft 11 and has formed integrally therewith a spur gear 17. The spur gear 17 rotates with the gear wheel 16, and is in mesh with the gear wheel 18 which is secured to the shaft 19 a lug 19 carried by thewheel 1S andfitting intothe slot 19 in the shaft 19, as illustrated'i'n Figsf2 and 3. The lug 19 may beheate'd and bent at right angles to the plane of the gear 118 so as to permit the placing'of the gearupon the shaft 19, after wh'ich'the lug maybe bent into theslot 19", or' the lug may be made separately and attached to the gear'18 and positioned into tlieslot 19 afterthe gear has been placed u'ponthe shaft19'. The shaft 19 is am-- naled in the bearing formed by the aper tiire9 in the plate 6 and also journaledin the bearing formed by the U-shaped member 20, which is riveted or otherwise secured as at 21 to the front wall of the casing 1.

The shaft 19, above referred to, is provided at one end with the friction wheel 22 which is arranged to rotate therewith. A suitable coil spring 23 surrounds the shaft between the bearing 20 and the friction wheel 2 and is secured respectively to the bearing and frictional wheel, so that when the shaft is rotated, the spring will have a tendency to force the shaft back into its normal position. Thus it will be seen that when theshaft is rotated, the several sets of gearing will set in operation, thus gradually turning down the light and finally extinguishing the same. The end of the shaft 19 opposite the end to which the friction wheel 22 is secured, is bent as at 2% and again bent to form the U-shaped member 25, one arm of which projects upwardly as at 26 and is bent back upon itself and terminates in the Ushaped member 27, the free end of the arm of which terminates in the angular projection 23, which is arranged to enter the aperture 29 formed in the projection 4 to hold the key in its inoperative position when so desired by the user.

A suitable slot 30 is formed in the front plate of the casing 1 and is arranged to register with the slot 10 formed in the plate 2. These slots are arranged to receive the ends of the shaft 31 upon which the friction wheel 32 is rotatably mounted. A U-shaped frame 33 is operatively connected with relation to the friction wheel 32, and has projecting upwardly therefrom the cylindrical threaded extension 3 1 which is surrounded by the coil spring 35, which coil spring is arranged. to exert downward pressure against the U-shaped frame 33 so as to force the friction wheel 32 into frictional engagement with the friction disk 13 to retard the rotation of the gear wheels and thereby control the operation of the wheel 22. A suitable thumb screw 36 is adapted to cooperate with the threaded extension 3% to pull the frame 33 upwardly so that the compression of the friction wheel 32 on the friction disk 13 may be manually controlled.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that in use the wheel 22 is brought into operative relation with the friction wheels 37 which is best illustrated in Fig. 7, and it will be apparent that when the friction wheel 22 is rotated, the wheels 37 will be rotated correspondingly and the light which is to be controlled may be turned down and extinguished at a predetermined time. hen the user desires to throw the device out of operation, the shaft 19 is pulled outwardly so that the friction wheel 22 disengages the friction wheels 37 and the extension 28 is brought into alinement with the aperture 29 in the extension 4 and allowed to project through said extension, in which position the shaft will be held in inoperative relation with the friction wheels 3'7 and manual operation of the wheels may be resorted to without any interference from the controlling device.

When it is desired to put the device in operation, the shaft 19 is pulled outwardly to witndraw the lug 28 from the aperture 29, after which the shaft is turned in a clock wise direction to wind the spring 23. The shaft is then shoved inwardly to place the wheel 22 in operative engagement with the wheels 37 and to position the arm 28 on the inside of the wall 2 against the left hand side of the lug 5 on the tongue 4. When the shaft is released, the spring 23 will in unwinding turn the shaft in a counter clockwise direction. The movement of the shaft in this direction tends to gradually move the wick downwardly. When the shaft has been turned suiiiciently to move the arm 28 from an engagement with the left hand side of the lug 5 and into engagement with the right hand side of the lug, the wick will have been moved downwardly sufliciently to extinguish the lamp. The speed of the movement of the shaft may be regulated and controlled through the medium of the friction wheel 32, rendering it possible to extinguish the lamp in any predetermined time. The engagement of the arm 28 against the right hand side of the lug 5, stops the operation of the device. The oifset portion of the strip 6 permits the lug 28 to pass the strip duringthe movement of the shaft 19 by the spring 23. When it is desired to only turn the lamp down at a predetermined time, it is only necessary to limit the movement of the shaft 19 by the spring 23, and this may be done when setting the device and placing the arm 28 in spaced relation to the left hand side of the lug 5. The gear 18 being keyed to the shaft 19 will rotate said shaft according to the rotation of the remaining train of gears and will prevent the gear 18 from being moved with and by the shaft during the inner and outer movements of the shaft 19 when setting or looking the device.

Vhile in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that such changes may be made in the combination and arrangement of parts as will fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the character described,

a casing, a shaft mounted in said casing, a coil spring surrounding the shaft and adapted to rotate the same, a frictional wheel carried by one end of the shaft and arranged to control the operation of the lighting system, a key at the opposite end of the shaft and adapted to provide means whereby the spring may be Wound to set thedevice in action, means to lock the shaft in an inoperative position and prevent the shaft from rotating, and means to manually control the speed of rotation of the friction wheel whereby the operation of the lighting system is controlled.

2. In a device of the character described, a casing, bearings secured to the rear and front walls of the casing, a shaft rotatably mounted in said bearings, one of said bearings being substantially U-shaped, a coil spring surrounding said shaft and adapted to rotate the same,- a friction Wheel carried by one end of said shaft and arranged to control the operation of a lighting system, a key at the opposite end of the shaft and adapted to provide a means whereby the spring may be Woundto set the device in operation, said coil spring having one end bearing against said U-shaped bearing and the opposite end against said friction wheel whereby said friction wheel is normally held in engagement with the lighting system operation control, means to move the shaft into an inoperative position and prevent the rotation of the same and means to control the speed of rotation of the friction Wheel.

3. In a device of the character described, a casing, bearings secured to the front and rear walls of the casing, said bearings being spaced from said walls and provided With alining apertures, the rear Wall of the casing having an inverted triangular opening, the apex of which is located slightly below the apertures in the bearings, a tongue formed on the rear plate and extending into said triangular opening and having a recess in the central portion thereof, a projection on said tongue and extending into said casing, a shaft mounted in said apertures in said bearings, a coil spring surrounding said shaft and adapted to rotate the same, a friction wheel carried by one end of the shaft and arranged to control the operation of the lighting system, a key at the opposite end of shaft and adapted to provide a means whereby the spring may be Wound to set the device in operation, an angular projection formed on the free end of said key and lying in a plane parallel to the shaft, said projection being adapted to engage the projection on the tongue and thereby limit the r0- tation of the shaft, said spring having one end bearing against one of said bearings and the opposite end against said friction wheel whereby said shaft is normally held in engagement with the lighting system operation control, and means to prevent the rotation of the shaft and to manually control the speed of rotation of said shaft.

4:. In a device of the character described, a casing, bearings secured to the front and rear walls of the casing, said bearings being spaced from said walls and provided with alini-ng apertures, the rear wall of the casing having an inverted triangular opening, the apex of which is located slightly below the apertures in the bearings, a tongue formed on the rear plate and extending into said triangular opening and having a recess in the central portion thereof, a projection on said tongue and extending into said casing, a shaft mounted in said apertures in said. bearings, a coil spring surrounding said shaft and adapted to rotate the same, a friction wheel carried by one end of the shaft and arranged to control the operation of the lighting system, a key at the opposite end of the shaft and adapted to provide a means whereby the spring may be wound to set the device in operation, an angular 'projection formed on the free end of said key and lying in a plane parallel to the shaft, said projection being adapted to engage the projection on the tongue and thereby limit the rotation of the shaft, said shaft being adapted to slide longitudinally and the proj ection on said key being adapted to engage said recess in the tongue whereby said shaft is prevented from rotating and held in an inoperative position, and means to manually control the speed of the rotation of said shaft.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM w. BAUMAN,

Witnesses M. E. MCELROY,

CHARLES ESHLEMAN.

Copies 0': this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. V 

